Two years ago, the president of the Seattle City Council offered a rather ludicrous proposition. He wanted Seattle to place a new tax on the sale of firearms and ammunition within the city limits. Ammo would cost an additional 2-5 cents per round, and a firearm would cost an extra $25. But what was even more absurd than the tax itself, is what the money would be going toward. The tax was supposed to pay for gun violence prevention programs and research.

The way City Council President Tim Burgess explained it, this “gun violence” tax would help offset the costs the city pays to treat gunshot victims. Essentially, it was a tax levied on responsible law abiding gun owners, to pay for the actions of violent criminals.

Despite how utterly stupid that sounds, the proposal passed. However, it didn’t have the desired effect. To the surprise of no one who actually understands the relationship between private firearm ownership and crime rates, the violent crime rate in Seattle has dramatically increased since the tax was put in place. It also brought in only a small fraction of the revenue that the city council was expecting. In short, the tax was a total failure.

So it’s no surprise that the tax has faced a lawsuit over the fact that Washington has a law that prevents municipalities from regulating firearms. Unfortunately, the Washington Supreme Court recently ruled against the lawsuit on the grounds that taxes aren’t the same as regulations, and cities are well within their right to levy sales taxes.

On August 10 Washington’s high court sided with the City of Seattle, which adopted a “gun violence tax” in a strategy to slither around the state preemption law that placed exclusive authority for regulating firearms in the hands of the State Legislature. And this new scheme could be coming to any city that has an anti-gun rights Mayor and City Council.

In Seattle’s case, the tax is $25 on the sale of each firearm, plus two to five cents for each round of ammunition sold. This threat takes on even more sinister dimensions when one considers the potential for cities to simply up the fee. Seattle started with $25 per gun, but what if they want to raise that to $100, $500 or even $1,000?

It opens the door wide to making gun ownership prohibitively expensive for average citizens. Essentially, Washington’s Supreme Court just handed the gun prohibition lobby and its allies in government a new strategy: If they can’t ban or regulate gun ownership out of existence, they will simply tax it into oblivion.

I think deep down we all know that this is probably the real intent behind Seattle’s gun tax. The left has tried many times to regulate privately owned firearms out of existence, and in America they have failed far more often than they have succeeded. They’re always looking for a new underhanded approach to gun control and this is it. Firearm and ammunition taxes aren’t about reducing gun violence and saving lives. They’re about exploiting a legal loophole to make firearms too expensive for ordinary people to own.

]]>http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/the-last-frontier-for-gun-control-washington-court-rules-in-favor-of-seattles-gun-violence-tax_08172017/feed147509http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/the-last-frontier-for-gun-control-washington-court-rules-in-favor-of-seattles-gun-violence-tax_08172017Conspiracy or Chaos: “The Farce Of Competing Political Parties Is A Smoke Screen Used By The Deep State To Maintain Their Control”http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/j06gNBdwoUE/conspiracy-or-chaos-the-farce-of-competing-political-parties-is-a-smoke-screen-used-by-the-deep-state-to-maintain-their-control_08172017
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/conspiracy-or-chaos-the-farce-of-competing-political-parties-is-a-smoke-screen-used-by-the-deep-state-to-maintain-their-control_08172017#commentsThu, 17 Aug 2017 21:46:02 +0000http://www.shtfplan.com/?p=47505This article was originally published by James Quinn at The Burning Platform

“The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory is that conspiracy theorists believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is actually chaotic. The truth is that it is not The Iluminati, or The Jewish Banking Conspiracy, or the Gray Alien Theory. The truth is far more frightening – Nobody is in control. The world is rudderless.” – Alan Moore

Alan Moore, the renowned graphic novel writer, and author of the dystopian classic V for Vendetta, politically identifies as an anarchist. His view that all political states are an outgrowth of anarchy, with the biggest gang taking control and dictating how things will be run, is manifested in V for Vendetta. As an anarchist, you can understand why he is doubtful of conspiracy theories and an all-powerful entity controlling the world. He believes in a chaotic world competing gangs position themselves to gain power and control.

“We live in a badly developed anarchist situation in which the biggest gang has taken over and have declared that it is not an anarchist situation – that it is a capitalist or a communist situation. But I tend to think that anarchy is the most natural form of politics for a human being to actually practice.”- Alan Moore

The Guy Fawkes mask from V for Vendetta has been adopted by anarchist groups around the world, including: Anonymous, WikiLeaks, and the Occupy protestors. Moore’s positive view of the Occupy movement was based on his belief ordinary people had the right to reclaim what had been taken from them by criminal bankers. The initial impetus for the Occupy protests was the destruction of Main Street USA by Wall Street sociopaths, who not only escaped prosecution for their crimes, but were bailed out by the taxpayers they had pillaged and further enriched as captured politicians enabled them to get even bigger.

Millions were evicted from their homes and lost their jobs. Middle class families have seen their real income continue to stagnate, while bankers, corporate executives, and politicians have reaped billions in bonuses, stock gains, and payoffs, provided by central bankers in their back pocket.

“I can’t think of any reason why as a population we should be expected to stand by and see a gross reduction in the living standards of ourselves and our kids, possibly for generations, when the people who have got us into this have been rewarded for it – they’ve certainly not been punished in any way because they’re too big to fail. I think that the Occupy movement is, in one sense, the public saying that they should be the ones to decide who’s too big to fail. As an anarchist, I believe that power should be given to the people whose lives this is actually affecting.” – Alan Moore

For those of us who visited Zuccotti Park during the early stages of the Occupy Movement, you understood this was a true populist protest with Ron Paul libertarians alongside liberal college students, old time hippies, middle aged men and women put out of work by the massive Wall Street fraud, and a myriad of citizens supporting varied causes and exercising their First Amendment rights. They were primarily focused on the true enemy – sociopathic Wall Street bankers and corrupt captured politicians. Sadly, the movement was co-opted in short order by Soros and his minions, just as the Tea Party had been co-opted by neo-cons earlier. Supposedly liberal mayors in NYC and across the country eventually unleashed their police state thugs on the protestors and wiped it out. Was this an example of chaos or conspiracy?

There isn’t an easy answer to this question. I have to lean towards Alan Moore’s view of the world. There are certainly conspiratorial schemes plotted by powerful men in smoke filled rooms, but there are other gangs of men conspiring to push their competing agendas. Conspiracy theorists who think there is one massive conspiracy controlling every aspect of the world have an extremely tough case to make. People who believe everything is part of a grand conspiracy are seeking an easy solution to our problems, rather than dealing with the complexity and chaos which is the true nature of our world. V’s speech to London after blowing up the Old Bailey explains who is really to blame for allowing Deep State actors to gain control of our government, creating an Orwellian surveillance state.

Good evening, London. Allow me first to apologize for this interruption. I do, like many of you, appreciate the comforts of the everyday routine, the security of the familiar, the tranquility of repetition. I enjoy them as much as any bloke. But in the spirit of commemoration – whereby those important events of the past, usually associated with someone’s death or the end of some awful bloody struggle, are celebrated with a nice holiday – I thought we could mark this November the fifth, a day that is sadly no longer remembered, by taking some time out of our daily lives to sit down and have a little chat.

There are, of course, those who do not want us to speak. I suspect even now orders are being shouted into telephones and men with guns will soon be on their way. Why? Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn’t there?

Cruelty and injustice…intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance, coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who’s to blame? Well certainly there are those who are more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable. But again, truth be told…if you’re looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.

I know why you did it. I know you were afraid. Who wouldn’t be? War. Terror. Disease. There were a myriad of problems which conspired to corrupt your reason and rob you of your common sense. Fear got the best of you and in your panic, you turned to the now High Chancellor Adam Sutler. He promised you order. He promised you peace. And all he demanded in return was your silent, obedient consent.

Last night, I sought to end that silence. Last night, I destroyed the Old Bailey to remind this country of what it has forgotten. More than four hundred years ago, a great citizen wished to embed the fifth of November forever in our memory. His hope was to remind the world that fairness, justice and freedom are more than words – they are perspectives. So if you’ve seen nothing, if the crimes of this government remain unknown to you, then I would suggest that you allow the fifth of November to pass unmarked. But if you see what I see, if you feel as I feel, and if you would seek as I seek…then I ask you to stand beside me, one year from tonight, outside the gates of Parliament. And together, we shall give them a fifth of November that shall never, ever, be forgot!

We have no one to blame but ourselves for our current state of affairs. Blaming it on some shadowy group makes us feel somehow comforted. If an all-powerful entity is controlling the world, then we can easily convince ourselves anything we do to try and change the course of history would be fruitless. Therefore, we just bitch on internet forums. The truth is fear rules the actions of the majority.

Those who constitute the Deep State are not conspiring directly by working together to rule the world and control the people. What they are doing is taking advantage of a dumbed down fearful populace by using the chaos, incompetence of institutions, and confusion spread by the propaganda press to institute their agendas. The Deep State consists of shadowy billionaires, mega-corporations, the military industrial complex, surveillance state agencies, crooked bought off politicians and their mass media mouthpieces.

Those with the financial means and access to the power of the media have embraced the Edward Bernays worldview that an invisible government of the rich and powerful is necessary to manipulate the opinions of the masses through propaganda in order for society to function smoothly. Is this truly a conspiracy or just competing gangs of rich and connected men utilizing their wealth to mold the minds of the masses in a way that continues to benefit and enrich them?

These Deep State players don’t meet every other Saturday to conspire and plot ways to pillage and enslave the masses. But they do know each other and silently agree to never rock the boat, whether they are Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives, socialists, corporate executives, academics, or journalists. Money, control and power are at stake.

Those currently pulling the wires behind the scenes are conspiratorial in nature. It has become crystal clear since the election of Trump the farce of competing political parties is just a smoke screen used by the Deep Stateplayers to maintain their control. Trump’s shocking upset and seeming disregard for bowing down to the status quo has forced politicians of all persuasions to reveal their true masters. Both parties favor bloated government control of healthcare, with a medical industrial complex controlling the show, writing the rules, reaping riches, and buying off politicians. “Free” healthcare buys votes.

The flogging of the false Russian narrative by the corporate media has been used by neo-cons and ultra-libs to force Trump into the military interventionist camp – guaranteeing increased wealth for the military industrial complex. Neither party has any interest in cutting spending. The debt ceiling will be raised. The $4 trillion in annual spending will ratchet ever higher. Both sides are perfectly fine with $1 trillion deficits and $200 trillion of unfunded liabilities, as long as their gravy train keeps being fueled by the Deep State. They will spend your money until it all collapses under the mountains of debt.

Donald Jeffries explains why it is vital to the vested interests they scorn and ridicule anyone who uses factual data to prove conspiratorial intent by the government or its cancerous corporate outgrowths.

“I can remember when believing in conspiracies wasn’t cool. Now, in the second decade of the twenty-first century, more people are starting to sense that things may not be as they appear to be. The truth in Lord Acton’s classic axiom that “Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely” becomes more self-evident every day. Politicians from the only two parties we have to choose from break promises, are unresponsive to the will of the people, and opt for war, austerity measures, and state control over and over again. Gary Allen, author of the book None Dare Call It Conspiracy, defined things perfectly when he wrote, “It must be remembered that the first job of any conspiracy, whether it be in politics, crime or within a business office, is to convince everyone else that no conspiracy exists.” – Donald Jeffries – Hidden History: An Exposé of Modern Crimes, Conspiracies, and Cover-Ups in American Politics

It ultimately comes down to power and control over the key mechanisms of finance, taxation, legislation and the media. There isn’t one specific group of conspirators working together to rule the world. Is George Soros attempting to influence and control what happens in the U.S. and Europe to benefit his interests? Yes. Are the Koch brothers attempting to do the same with a different end goal? Yes. Are Pelosi and Schumer conspiring to push their left wing agenda? Yes. Are McConnell and Ryan conspiring to implement their establishment vision? Yes.

They have competing agendas, but they want the status quo to remain intact. No one within the establishment wants to change anything of substance. The current system benefits their personal interests, while destroying the lives of hard working American citizens. The country is currently run by same party with slightly different rhetoric and policies put forth by the Republican side and Democrat side. Promises are made to voters and then reneged on in short order. Therefore, no significant change ever occurs. Meanwhile, the anger and frustration build among the deplorables.

What Trump has realized quickly is how powerful the vested interests are and how ruthless they will act to retain their power. During the campaign Trump ran on a non-interventionist platform, looking to repair our relationship with Russia, scorning NATO, and lessening our involvement in the Middle East. He know rattles his saber on a daily basis, threatening war with North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, Syria and anyone else who doesn’t toe the American Empire line.

He provokes Russia and China on a regular basis. He has sent more troops to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria, while expanding spending on the military. Neo-cons and neo-libs don’t think Trump is being aggressive enough in policing the world. They won’t be happy until middle class boys across the land are sacrificed as cannon fodder for our welfare warfare surveillance state.

Trump bloviated about the stock market being in a bubble during the campaign when it was trading at 18,000. He now pronounces the record highs of 22,000 as proof of his brilliant economic leadership. Meanwhile, the economy has grown at less than 2% during his first six months, retailers are going bankrupt and closing stores at a record pace, consumer spending and real wages are barely growing, and consumer debt has reached all-time highs. Best time to buy, according to the Prez.

A critical thinking individual might wonder how a market could be in a bubble at 18,000 but not be in a bubble at 22,000 ten months later. During the campaign Trump accused Obama and his BLS minions of manipulating the data to make horrible jobs numbers appear strong. Now he bellows about the strong jobs market as if we’re now supposed to believe the hysterically absurd 4.3% reported rate when 101 million out of 255 million working age Americans aren’t working. And a vast majority of the jobs are either part-time and/or low paying service jobs with shitty pay and benefits.

Trump is playing the status quo Deep State game in an attempt to fend off a coup currently in progress by lying to the masses. Jobs are plentiful, consumers are confident, the economy is booming, the stock market is always right. Ignore those vacant crumbling malls, your declining disposable income as health care cost increases outpace your salary increases by a factor of five, and your ever increasing credit card balance.

Trump wouldn’t be using the tried and true method of distracting from domestic failure by starting a foreign conflict because he understands how easily manipulated the ignorant American masses can be moved by fear? Rather than draining the swamp, Trump has been forced to swim with the gators. And his own people hired a Deep State alligator hunter named Mueller who will stop at nothing to mount Trump as a trophy or force him to depart the DC swamp for the friendly environs of Manhattan Island.

Trump belittled the troll-like Yellen during the campaign, declaring her low interest policy was geared to help Obama/Clinton. He talked tough about replacing Yellen and increasing rates. He evidently got the talk from the banker cabal and he suddenly loves low interest rates and believes Yellen is doing a bang up job. He has filled his cabinet with vampire squid and other Wall Street scum. He is as beholden to the Fed and their Wall Street puppeteers as his predecessors. Wall Street remains in control, while Main Street will continue to get screwed. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s about powerful special interests capturing the levers of government.

Our government doesn’t in any way resemble its original concept of a republic. It doesn’t even resemble a democracy at this point. Since FDR and specifically since LBJ, we’ve become a welfare/warfare state. Since Bush II we’ve devolved into a corporate fascist surveillance socialist state. Despite rhetoric about free market capitalism, both parties have embraced socialism. The super-rich, bankers, corporate executives, liberals and conservatives came to the realization socialism disguised as capitalism fills their coffers at a much higher rate than true free market capitalism.

They have bought off the poor with unfunded welfare benefits, the old and poor with unfunded “free” healthcare, government union workers with unfunded pension benefits and all with unfunded social security payments. Trillion dollar annual deficits and $200 trillion in unfunded welfare promises, enabled by Federal Reserve easy money policies, does wonders for the bank accounts of Deep State players and their acolytes. Spending money you don’t have is the ultimate confidence game, but the payback will be a bitch.

“Why are the super-rich for socialism? Don’t they have the most to lose? I take a look at my bank account and compare it with Nelson Rockefeller’s and it seems funny that I’m against socialism and he’s out promoting it.” Or is it funny? In reality, there is a vast difference between what the promoters define as socialism and what it is in actual practice. The idea that socialism is a share-the-wealth program is strictly a confidence game to get the people to surrender their freedom to an all-powerful collectivist government. While the Insiders tell us we are building a paradise on earth, we are actually constructing a jail for ourselves.” – Gary Allen, None Dare Call It Conspiracy

The Deep State thrives on chaos, confusion, and complexity. Our financial system, healthcare system, entitlement systems, military, and government agencies are too big and complex to fix. Those pulling the strings don’t want the public to understand how anything operates. Supposed “experts” are put forth on the corporate propaganda networks to further confuse the masses. The purpose of government run public education is to matriculate non-thinking socially engineered consumers into the world.

The vast majority of iGadget distracted, math challenged, functionally illiterate morons will believe anything the propaganda media peddles because they are incapable of critical thinking. They have an infinite capacity for rationalizing how spending money they don’t have on things they don’t need is actually making their lives better. This same mindset keeps them from questioning how their government can run up a $20 trillion national debt (with $15 trillion added since 2000), with no adverse consequences. These debts are the ultimate threat to our survival as a nation.

Based on everything that has happened in the last twelve months, to believe this is part of some well-planned conspiracy is a reach of epic proportions. The Deep State/status quo were sure their hand-picked candidate Hillary Clinton was a shoe in. Since November the country has been roiled in election result challenges, chaotic antifa violence, fake news stories, silent coups, thousands of tweets, congressional investigations, assassination attempts on congressmen, special prosecutors, increasing odds of civil and foreign wars, and deteriorating economic conditions for the majority. Just when you thought the chaos couldn’t get more pronounced, we experienced a week of sheer turmoil and tumult. Even the stock market stopped rising for a day or two.

I’ve been observing the goings on this week with a jaundiced eye. As the rhetoric between President Cheeto and Kim Jung Nutjob has ramped up to nuclear proportions I’ve been reminded of the rhetoric and fake news leading up to the invasion of Iraq. Suddenly, confidential reports are released saying the midget dictator has miniaturized a nuclear warhead to go on top of his ICBMs that now supposedly can kill everyone in the U.S. The exaggeration of this country’s nuclear capabilities is on par with Hussein’s WMD and killing of babies in Kuwaiti hospitals.

The neo-cons smell blood and more money for their beloved arms peddlers. The propagandists have two thirds of Americans fearful of this rotund midget with an IQ of 85. Trump then set in motion his backup plan – attack Venezuela, which poses absolutely zero risk to America or our interests. But it does have the largest oil reserves on earth.

Now this weekend’s escapades in Charlottesville have worked the propaganda media into a tizzy. It’s these types of stories that reveal all the corporate media to be peddling the same narrative. Fox News was peddling the same white hate narrative as CNN and MSNBC. Because protestors with proper permits included some white supremacists, nazi sympathizers, and KKK members, all participants were branded as racists. Their right to protest regarding the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue was guaranteed by the First Amendment.

It was the violent Soros funded antifa SJWs who were bussed in to create a violent confrontation, while government officials told police to stand down and let the clashes happen. The Deep State is desirous of a race war and their media mouthpieces are busy spreading misinformation and falsehoods to further rile up the masses. Their job is to portray all flyover country whites who elected Trump as rednecks, racists and white supremacists. And at least half the country believes this fake news.

“The militia experts accuse anti-government agitants of paranoia, yet they spin around and claim that militias speak in coded phrases, have underground bunkers, and are secretly conspiring to take over the world and enslave minorities. They say it`s lunacy that men at the pentagon can conspire, yet they`re certain that farmers out on the plain are plotting as we speak. They depict the United Nations as weak and ineffectual, yet they portray raggedy-ass backwoodsmen as the world`s biggest organized military threat.” – Jim Goad, The Redneck Manifesto: How Hillbillies, Hicks, and White Trash Became America’s Scapegoats

I don’t believe what is happening in this country and around the world is some vast conspiracy. But I do believe the Deep State thrives on chaos and fear. They used 9/11 to pass the Patriot Act, creating an Orwelliansurveillance state. They used the Wall Street created 2008 global financial implosion to rig the financial systems in their favor, while issuing mind boggling levels of government debt and artificially suppressing interest rates to create the largest financial bubble in world history.

I do believe we are in the midst of a Fourth Turning where the mood of the masses has turned unequivocally dark. As we approach the ninth year of this Crisis period, the intensification and potential for enormous levels of domestic and foreign bloodshed ramps up by the day. With a decade or so remaining in this period of turmoil, chaos and war, the existing social order will be swept away and replaced by something new. But not necessarily better.

Whatever Deep State conspiracies are being plotted by various gangs seeking power during this Fourth Turning, they will all rot from within. Human nature never changes. Hubris and greed will lead to miscalculations and missteps which will result in another financial crash, civil chaos, and world war. Blood will be spilled in vast quantities if the wrong people make the wrong decisions. Chaos will rein for the next decade and the outcome is very much in doubt. Get prepared mentally and physically for the trials ahead.

Walmart shoppers love the everyday low prices (apparently too low judging by this morning’s earnings guidance) they get shopping at the largest big box retailer in the country, but they apparently don’t give a rip about the political beliefs of its executive management team.

In fact, Walmart shopper Ed Congdon of Indiana thinks “all CEO’s should keep their mouths shut” about political issues unless they want to be a political pundit, in which case they should “go on CNN.” Per the New York Times:

“I think all C.E.O.s should keep their mouths shut,” said Mr. Congdon, 63, who was listening to the Rush Limbaugh radio show while his wife shopped inside. “You want to be a political pundit, go on CNN.”

Mr. Congdon, who drives tractor-trailers for a living, said he agreed with President Trump’s hesitation to place the blame for the violence solely on the “conservative side.”

“The biggest problem is that they’re not calling out the liberal side of things,” he said, adding that the Virginia protesters should be “investigated” as to who “paid them.”

Of course, these comments come as Walmart shoppers around the country are being asked to respond to CEO Doug McMillon’s statement released yesterday which, among other things, criticized President Trump for his response to the Charlottesville tragedy. Here is the full statement he made yesterday per CNBC:

Respect for the individual is one of our core beliefs at Walmart. And the role we play in communities around the country to build a more diverse and inclusive society is more critical than ever as the tragic events in Charlottesville over the weekend painfully reminded us. Our prayers are with the victims and their families.

As we watched the events and the response from President Trump over the weekend, we too felt that he missed a critical opportunity to help bring our country together by unequivocally rejecting the appalling actions of white supremacists. His remarks today were a step in the right direction and we need that clarity and consistency in the future.

Our country is facing some very difficult issues that require our elected officials, business leaders and community-based organizations to work together. Representing a company with the largest and one of the most diverse groups of associates in the U.S., and an even more diverse customer base of tens of millions of customers, we believe we should stay engaged to try to influence decisions in a positive way and help bring people together. I will continue to strongly advocate on behalf of our associates and customers, and urge our elected officials to do their part to promote a more just, tolerant and diverse society.

Thank you for representing Walmart and our values today — and every day.

Of course, not everyone disapproved of McMillon’s comments. Shandra Tenney of Las Vegas simply didn’t think she could “come here and give them my money” unless Walmart’s CEO publicly clarified his stance on Trump’s political controversy…after all, anything less than a public rebuke of the President at this point is clearly a full endorsement of radical white supremacist groups and hate crimes of all types.

“I’m pleased with the C.E.O.’s response,” said Mr. Ellington, 40. “He was spot on. What Trump did was miss a very critical opportunity. Considering today’s society and climate, those types of opportunities are important and not to be wasted. To have the president in office not stepping up is a disgrace to the office.”

Shandra Tenney, 25, agreed. A married dental assistant, Ms. Tenney left the store with a bounty of the 12-packs of soda that were on sale.

“If the C.E.O. had been for Trump after what he said yesterday, I don’t think I could have come here and given them my money,” she said. “I’m really happy they are standing up to this guy. These business guys, and Trump is a business guy, are saying something. And they are saying, to me, they don’t think he’s a good guy to be in business with. It says something.”

Meanwhile, Peter Caprio of New Jersey seemed to interject some logic into the New York Times’ narrative…“If it doesn’t affect stockholders, best to let it go.”

Mr. Caprio, a school business administrator, said Mr. Trump had made fair points in his news conference on Tuesday, when he said the violence was not just the fault of the white supremacists. “He was right; it’s on both sides,” he said.

But even if he might have agreed with Mr. McMillon’s position, he suggested it was not appropriate for the chief executive of a big company like Walmart to comment on politics.

“The C.E.O. has to worry about stockholders, nobody else,” Mr. Caprio said. “If it doesn’t affect stockholders, best to let it go.”

Perhaps someday America’s CEOs will learn that while 100% of people may approve of their products, roughly 50% are always going to disagree with their political views. Maybe these CEO’s would be well-served to remember they’re fiduciaries of public companies hired to pursue whatever is in the best interests of shareholders….not elected officials that need jump on TV every single time a national tragedy strikes.

]]>http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/walmart-customers-blast-ceos-criticism-of-trump-you-want-to-be-a-political-pundit-go-on-cnn_08172017/feed2047500http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/walmart-customers-blast-ceos-criticism-of-trump-you-want-to-be-a-political-pundit-go-on-cnn_08172017Is The Eclipse Nothing More Than A Money-Making Scheme For The Elites?http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/fyz0zGsQuKI/is-the-eclipse-nothing-more-than-a-money-making-scheme-for-the-elites_08172017
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/is-the-eclipse-nothing-more-than-a-money-making-scheme-for-the-elites_08172017#commentsThu, 17 Aug 2017 15:30:38 +0000http://www.shtfplan.com/?p=47491

There are many conspiracies surrounding the total solar eclipse that will occur on Monday, August 21. Everyone, including scientists, talk like this is a sure thing, but is it?

The Atlantic says “something doesn’t add up.” The astronomers at NASA claim to have calculated down to the minute exactly when and where this will happen, and for how long, and have put out maps detailing the “path of totality.” They have reportedly known about this eclipse for years, just by virtue of some sort of complex math. But they haven’t released the math to the public so we can check the calculations for ourselves.

Corporations like Amazon are profiting from the sale of these eclipse glasses. Is anyone asking how many of these astronomers also, conveniently, belong to Amazon Prime?

Let’s follow the money a little further. Hotels along the “path of totality”—a regiondrawn up by Obama-era NASA scientists—have been sold out for months. Some of those hotels are owned and operated by large multinational corporations. Where else do these hotels have locations? You guessed it: Washington, D.C. –The Atlantic

The entire political-scientific-corporate power structure is aligned behind the eclipse. This includes the mainstream media. There are almost no stories about how the eclipse may not happen. But could that be because it really is going to happen? Perhaps we should delve a little deeper into the money trail.

Newspaper owner Jeff Bezos is out there buying all of Seattle with the revenue from these “eclipse glasses.” Conspiracy theorists are saying that there is a chance the eclipse won’t happen at all and are asking for their voices to be heard. But if it does happen after a scientist says that it will not, his credibility and trustworthiness for the rest of his life will be questioned.

It isn’t likely that the eclipse won’t happen. But if it doesn’t, we will have a few validated conspiracy theorists out there all too happy to point out that they were right.

While the focus on North Korea has been their improvement of missiles and a potential nuclear strike against the United States, many have missed an equally sinister weapon lingering in the rogue nation’s arsenal. And experts say that it’s time to take notice of it.

Experts say there’s another weapon in Pyongyang’s arsenal the globe should keep a very close and watchful eye on. “Nuclear weapons are not the only threat,” Kelsey Davenport, director of non-proliferation policy for the Arms Control Association told the McClatchy Washington Bureau. “North Korea could respond to a U.S. attack using chemical weapons. That would be devastating.” And according to Fox News, Kim Jong Un’s military has been collecting large stockpiles of nerve agents, such as sarin and VX, which is the most dangerous and potent of all nerve gas agents.

For more than a year, a United Nations agency in Geneva has been helping North Korea prepare an international patent application for production of sodium cyanide. Sodium cyanide is the main chemical agent in the nerve gas, Tabun, and it’s currently banned in North Korea by the UN. -The Daily Sheeple

“Compared to the nuclear threat, which involves, a finite number of warheads and delivery systems vulnerable to air defenses and anti-missile systems, the chemical threat is not as easily negated,” military analyst Reid Kirby wrote in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists.

There was a slight de-escalation of tensions with North Korea when the dictator decided to back off his threat of attacking the island nation of Guam. However, the fact that the rogue nation has an arsenal of chemical weapons isn’t sitting well with those at the top.

It’s not an exaggeration to say that battle lines are being drawn in America today. You can see it in the news everyday. As time goes on, people in this country are becoming very tribal, as Americans of different races, religions, and political persuasions turn on each other. What we saw in Charlottesville last weekend was just the latest sign that America is turning into a very dark place, where conflict between different demographics is the norm. And it probably won’t be the last indicator to emerge.

So how did we get to this place? How did we reach a point where America resembles Wiemar Germany, with white nationalists and socialist thugs battling it out on the streets and killing people?

If I were to pick one culprit for this mess, it would be the mainstream media. They’re the ones who have, for the most part, stood behind leftist ideologues for decades, and allowed them to bury public discourse under a wave of identity politics. They are at the very least, partly to blame. They’ve helped stoke divisions in this country that were once faint, or in the process of healing.

And if you don’t think the mainstream media is responsible for nudging our country towards war in the streets, then you should read this op-ed that was recently published by the Washington Post. It was written by N.D.B. Collins, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University. In it, he appears to shamelessly call for the left to spawn more riots and violence in this country.

The white nationalist riot in Charlottesville, a city that boasts “diversity makes us stronger,” made a lot of things clear. One of them is that generic solutions to the racial problem — bland affirmations of inclusiveness, tolerance and “free speech” — will no longer work. Indeed, they have never worked, at least not on their own. …

[I]n April 1968, amid a flurry of other “rocks,” riots shook American cities following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. It took that rolling unrest, not the promise of further economic growth, to spur President Lyndon Johnson and Congress to action. Within a week they had passed the Fair Housing Act.

Over the past century, liberalism, vexed by an ever-sharp, ever-cutting white supremacy, has needed these rocks. …

Segregationists have again assumed their pedestals in the Justice Department, the White House and many other American temples. Paper alone won’t drive them out. Start throwing rocks.

Let that sink in. At a time when our country has never been so divided, and the proverbial smoke is still clearing from a deadly riot in Virginia, one of the most widely recognized news sources decides to post an article that calls for more rioting.

It looks an awful lot like the media is trying to foment a war on American soil. What other conclusion can you draw from this very public call to violence? They had to have vetted this piece and understood its meaning and intent, before unleashing it on the world. They have to know the consequences of that, and if they know those consequences, then we can infer their goals.

The mainstream media has just shown us all its true colors. They’ve finally revealed what many of us suspected for a long time. They appear to be trying to convince Americans that it’s okay to hurt, and possibly kill each other for political reasons.

Everyone wants to live in a clean environment that is free of pollution and excessive degradation. It’s normal to want to live beside pristine forests and seas, and not have to worry about being poisoned by contaminants in the air, soil, and water. As humans we don’t always succeed in making our world clean, but it’s worth striving for.

Where problems arise in this effort, is when environmentalism forgets its priorities. Hardcore environmentalists have a habit valuing the natural world more than the humans who inhabit it. In some cases they promote ideas that are downright anti-human, like population control. They honestly don’t seem to think that it’s possible to support humanity and the environment at the same time. One must always thrive at the expense of the other.

And that attitude produces outrageous results when its adopted by the government. When the government decides that your life and property aren’t as important as the environment that surrounds it, look out. There’s a good chance that you’re going to lose everything.

The Department of Environmental Quality has ordered the Dressler family to stop the use of trucks to move sand away from the dune as it creeps closer to their cottage in Silver Lake, according to the Detroit Free Press.

The state says that the sand in question is designated as a critical dune, thus requiring special permits to remove.

‘They’re killing us,’ said David Dressler, 58, the property owner who has been denied permission to remove the sand.

‘I’m so pissed off right now, I’m beyond words.’

And this isn’t the first time that a home has been threatened by the sand dunes in that area. The Dressler family owned a second home that was enveloped by a sand dune earlier this year. So it’s no surprise that the Dresslers believe that the state of Michigan is violating their property rights by refusing to let them protect their home.

‘It’s absolutely pathetic that they can take my rights away from me,’ Dressler said.

‘That has got to be against the law.’

Dressler and her husband said they were able to push back smaller and less active sand dunes near their cottages for about 20 years. But the last two years have been different.

Experts believe that the prevailing wind direction has changed in the past two years, driving the sand dunes towards the direction of the homes.

Wind direction, the amount of sand available and the absence of vegetation all contribute to the movement of the sand dunes, said Alan Arbogast, a professor and chairman of Michigan State University’s Geography Department.

The future of the Dressler’s property looks bleak. The state claims that they can ask for a special permit to remove the sand, but it’s likely that they won’t be allowed to remove much of it. The sands are protected and have been given a “critical status” by the government.

And that’s why the Michigan state government is willing to let this valuable home be destroyed. Because apparently, a giant pile of sand is critical to the environment, and is more important than the humans who live near it.

There’s only one thing that has been constant throughout the duration of Trump’s presidency, and that is the reaction of the people who oppose him. Time after time the Left has responded to Trump’s actions and words with unfettered fear, paranoia, and highly publicized meltdowns. His mere presence in the White House seems to leave them hyperventilating, sobbing, and lashing out at anyone dares to support him, or even refuses to denounce him.

Believe it or not, the emotional vulnerability of these people hasn’t improved since he took office earlier this year. The New York Daily News recently interviewed several doctors and therapists around the country, and found that they’ve seen a huge spike in patients who have been freaking out about President Trump. Apparently, these medical professionals are referring to their anxiety as “President Trump Stress Disorder.”

Therapists report that their practices are more robust than ever. Deborah Cooper, a California-based therapist said she can hardly accommodate all of her patients. “I have people I have not seen in literally 30 years that have called me to come back in because of trauma,” she said. “I am more than full. I am overworking.”

She cited Trump’s lackluster condemnation of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville as one in a string of anxiety-inducing events that are “coming too fast and furious” for her patients — and her practice — to handle.

Clinical psychologist Scott Christnelly said President Trump’s remarks Tuesday serve as confirmation that his patients’ anxiety is well founded. “This is more evidence they should be anxious. There is evidence the anxiety is real, and it’s not just something they are making up,” he said.

The question isn’t whether their pain is real or not. It’s clearly real. It’s a matter of whether or not it’s justified. When Obama was in office, we didn’t see countless conservatives breaking down mentally and losing the ability to function, despite the fact that they were probably just as outraged with Obama as the Left has been with Trump. But what we’re seeing on the Left is an epidemic of mental distress since Trump took office.

“I don’t think I have a patient that has never mentioned it. It’s remarkable,” said Sue Elias, a New York-based psychotherapist.

Elias described a patient raised in a dysfunctional, alcoholic household whose past traumas have been brought to the surface by Trump. Her worries and fears now interfere with her day-to-day functioning.

“This is so triggering for her, the feeling of every day, what is going to happen next,” Elias said. “It has interfered with her work and she is really struggling…”

…Talkspace, an online therapy service, also reported three times more traffic than usual in January. Demand for its services remains about one and a half times higher than usual, its founder and CEO Oren Frank told the Daily News.“

The article then goes on to give five recommendations from these therapists, for people who are having trouble coping with Trump. They include unplugging from the 24 hour news cycle, getting involved in organizations and political movements they support so that they don’t feel so helpless, exercising, and trying to understand Trump supporters rather than vilifying them. And if all else fails, they recommend therapy.

So in other words, the solution these therapists provided to Leftists who are losing their minds over Trump amount to the following: Get a life, get off your ass, and stop being so close-minded.

]]>http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/the-leftist-meltdowns-continue-therapists-report-a-massive-spike-in-patients-suffering-from-president-trump-stress-disorder_08162017/feed7747469http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/the-leftist-meltdowns-continue-therapists-report-a-massive-spike-in-patients-suffering-from-president-trump-stress-disorder_08162017Korean War Part II: Why It’s Probably Going To Happenhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/SHTFplan/~3/Qmjyn2bdjuc/korean-war-part-ii-why-its-probably-going-to-happen_08162017
http://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/korean-war-part-ii-why-its-probably-going-to-happen_08162017#commentsWed, 16 Aug 2017 19:32:16 +0000http://www.shtfplan.com/?p=47466This report was originally published by Brandon Smith of Alt-Market.com

Though a lot of people in my line of work (alternative economic and geopolitical analysis) tend to be accused of “doom mongering,” I have to say personally I am not a big believer in “doom.” At least, not in the way that the accusation insinuates. I don’t believe in apocalypse, Armageddon or the end of the world, nor do I even believe, according to the evidence, that a global nuclear conflict is upon us. In fact, it annoys me that so many people seem desperate to imagine those conclusions whenever a crisis event takes shape.

I think the concept of “apocalypse” is rather lazy — unless we are talking about a fantastical movie scenario, like a meteor the size of Kentucky or Michelle Obama’s Adam’s apple hurtling towards the Earth. Human civilization is more likely to change in the face of crisis rather than end completely.

I do believe in massive sea changes in societies and political dynamics. I believe in the fall of nations and empires. I believe in this because I have seen it perpetually through history. What I see constant evidence of is that many of these sea changes are engineered by establishment elitists in government and finance. What I see is evidence of organized psychopathy and an agenda for total centralization of power. When I stumble upon the potential for economic disaster or war, I always ask myself “what is the narrative being sold to the public, what truth is it distracting us from and who REALLY benefits from the calamity.”

The saying “all wars are banker wars” is not an unfair generalization — it is a safe bet.

First, let’s clear up some misconceptions about public attitudes towards the North Korean situation. According to “polls” (I’ll remind readers my ample distrust of polls), a majority of Americans now actually support U.S. troop deployment to North Korea, but only on the condition that North Korea attacks first.

I want you to remember that exception — North Korea must attack first. It will be important for later in this analysis.

Despite a wide assumption that the mainstream media is beating the war drums on this issue, I find it is in most cases doing the opposite. The mainstream media has instead been going out of its way to downplay any chance that the current inflamed rhetoric on both sides of the Pacific is anything other than bluster that will end with a whimper rather than bomb blasts. This is one of the reasons why I think war is imminent; the media is a notorious contrarian indicator. Whatever they predict is usually the opposite of what comes true (just look at Brexit and the election of Donald Trump, for starters). Another generalization that is a sure bet is that the mainstream media usually lies, or at the very least, they are mostly wrong.

That said, if we are to believe the latest polls, unfortunately, one thing is clear: The American people, on both sides of the political spectrum, are becoming more galvanized around supporting a potential conflict with North Korea. For the establishment, war is a winning sell, at least for now.

Of course, I am aware that we have heard all this before. Back in 2013 tensions were relatively high with North Korea just like they are today. North Korea threatened a preemptive nuclear strike on the U.S. back then, too, and in the end it was all hot air. However, besides wider public support than ever before in terms of troop deployment to North Korea, something else is very different from 2013. Primarily, China’s stance on the issue of regime change.

In the past, China has been consistent in supporting UN sanctions against North Korea’s nuclear program while remaining immovable on war and regime change in the region. In 2013, it was clear that China was hostile to the notion of a U.S. invasion.

In 2017, though, something has changed. China’s deep ties to the global banking establishment, their open statements on their affection for the IMF, and their recent induction as the flagship nation for the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights system make it clear that they are working for the globalist agenda, not against it. This is not necessarily a new thing behind the curtain; China has done the bidding of globalist institutions for decades. Today though, the relationship is displayed far more publicly.

In 2015, it was China, not the U.S., that sounded the alarm over North Korea’s nuclear program, indicating that Pyongyang might have technology well beyond American estimates. It was this warning that triggered the slow buildup to today’s fear over a fully capable intercontinental ballistic missile package in the hands of North Korea. It seems obvious to me that China plays the role of North Korea’s friend as long as it serves the interests of the globalist agenda, and then China turns on North Korea when the narrative calls for a shift in the script. It is China that opens and closes the door to war with North Korea; a China that is very cooperative with the IMF and the push towards total globalization.

In 2013, China presented the narrative of stalwart opposition to U.S. invasion. In 2017, China has left the door wide open.

Both alternative and mainstream media outlets latched onto recent statements made by Beijing proclaiming that China “would not allow regime change in North Korea.” What many of them forgot to mention or buried in their own articles, though, was that this was NOT China’s entire statement. China also asserted that they would REMAIN NEUTRALif North Korea attacked first. I cannot find any previous instance in the past when China has made such a statement; a statement that amounts to a note of permission.

Both the American public and the Chinese government have given support for regime change in North Korea given the stipulation that there is an attack on the U.S. or U.S. interests and allies. So, I ask you, what is most likely to happen here?

Much of the world and most importantly the U.S. is on the verge of a new phase of severe economic decline according to all fundamental data trends. The U.S. is set to enter into yet another debate on the debt ceiling issue with many on the conservative side demanding that Trump and Republicans not roll over this time. And, as I discussed in my article ‘Geopolitical Tensions Are Designed To Distract The Public From Economic Decline’, a North Korean conflict stands as the best possible distraction.

How does the establishment rationalize a contested debt ceiling increase while also diverting blame away from themselves on the continued decline in U.S. and global fiscal data? War! Not necessarily a “world war” as so many are quick to imagine, but a regional war; a quagmire war that will put the final nail in the U.S. debt coffin and act as the perfect scapegoat for the inevitable implosion of the current stock market bubble. The international banks have much to gain and little to lose in a war scenario with North Korea.

I predict that there will be an attack blamed on North Korea. Either North Korea will be prodded into a violent reaction, or, a false flag event will be engineered and tied to Pyongyang. Remember, for the first time ever, China has essentially backed off of its opposition to invasion of North Korea as long as North Korea “attacks preemptively.” Why? Why didn’t they make this exception back in 2013? Because now the international banks want a distraction and China is giving them the opening they require.

Will this war culminate in global nuclear conflagration? No. The establishment has spent decades and untold trillions building it’s biometric control grids and staging the new global monetary framework under the SDR system. They are not going to vaporize all of this in an instant through a nuclear exchange. What they will do, though, is launch regional wars and also economic wars. Those people expecting apocalypse in the Hollywood sense are going to find something different, but in my opinion much worse — a steady but slower decline into economic ruin and global centralization.

Eventually, China and the U.S. will enter hostilities, but these hostilities will lean more towards the financial than the kinetic. The establishment cabal works in stages, not in absolute events. Another Korean war would be a disaster for America, just not in the way many people think.

Will there be a nuclear event? Yes. If war takes place in North Korea then it is likely they will use a nuclear device somewhere in retaliation. We may even see a nuclear event as a false flag catalyst for starting the war in the first place. This will not be a global threat, but a mushroom cloud over any American city or outpost is enough to scare the hell out of most people. It is all that will be needed.

Does this mean “doom” for the American people? It depends on how we react. Will we continue to hold the banking establishment responsible for all of their sabotage previous to a high profile war in the pacific? Or, will we get caught up in the tides of war fever? Will we question the source of future attacks on the U.S., or will we immediately point fingers at whoever the media or government tells us is the enemy? Our response really is the greatest determining factor in whether or not the American ideal of liberty stands or falls. This time, I do not see bluster, but a dark fog very common in the moments preceding conflict. This time, I believe we are indeed facing war, but war is always a means to an end. War is an establishment tool for social engineering on a massive scale.

If you would like to support the publishing of articles like the one you have just read, visit our donations page here. We greatly appreciate your patronage.

Unsuspecting Americans to be Hit Hard by this U.S. Scheme to Confiscate Your Savings:Alan Greenspan, 20-year head of the US Fed, reveals Washington’s nasty trick to confiscate the savings of unsuspecting Americans. Here’s How Some Americans Are Preparing

Ever since the Charleston Church shooting, the Left has been obsessed with purging every element of Confederate iconography in this country. No flag, statue, or bumper sticker has been safe. They want it all gone. The fact that most people who sport the Confederate flag aren’t racist at all, and merely view the flag as a totem of southern pride, matters not. The fact that statues of Confederate soldiers and generals are a part of our history, also doesn’t matter. To people who view everything in life through the lens of race and oppression, these symbols are offensive and must be erased.

This irrational rage culminated this week after the protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, which was a rally to protest the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue, turned violent and led to the murder of a one counter-protester at the hands of James Fields.

In response to that incident, a seething leftist mob gathered around a Confederate statue in Durham, North Carolina on Monday, and tore it down.

There are of course, several things that are seriously wrong with what they did.

First, we have to think about what this obsession with destroying Confederate monuments will lead to. If we’re going to erase every monument to people who owned slaves or were just racist, where does the buck stop? How long before these people start to demand that we tear down monuments to every founding father who owned slaves (of which there were many)?

It seems likely that whoever was leading this event, was probably not actually concerned about the association with this monument to racism. The end goal of these leftists is to tear down our history, and only recognize major American figures for the worst things they did. They want us to hate and demean the people who built this country, and preferably, erase them from the history books. Tearing down Confederate monuments is just the first step.

But what is perhaps the most despicable thing about this incident, is their choice to tear down this particular monument. In case you don’t know, this wasn’t a monument to a particular individual. It wasn’t a statue of a historical figure who was responsible for specific misdeeds. Though that wouldn’t excuse the rabid destruction of this monument, at least it would have been something to be angry about.

No, this was a war memorial to every Confederate soldier who died in the Civil War. Look at the video again and read the inscription on the monument. It reads “In Memory Of The Boys Who Wore The Gray,” and nothing more. It was flanked by memorials for soldiers who died in World War One, World War Two, Korea, and Vietnam.

It’s simply a monument to thousands of young men and boys who fought honorably for what they believed in, as bad as that cause may have been in hindsight, and died under horrific conditions that most of us can’t even begin to imagine. What is wrong with that? What is wrong with simply memorializing the fact that a lot of people were cut down in their prime during America’s most destructive war?

It wasn’t a monument to racism, or slavery, or oppression. It was just a token of respect to people who fought and died in an awful war, and it was just torn down by a bunch of sniveling self-righteous infants who’ve probably never had the guts to put their lives on the line for anything in their entire lives.